Elon Musk may be focusing on his other ventures, and some folks are saying DOGE is done for, but hold on! DOGE represents a crucial challenge to the way Washington loves to spend our money. Let's be clear: DOGE alone can't magically slash trillions in spending. Congress controls the purse strings, approving a whopping $1.8 trillion in discretionary spending annually, on top of the $5 trillion in entitlements and interest. Massive cuts require Congressional action. Musk's talk of a $2 trillion cut wasn't about just finding a number, it was about identifying wasteful spending. But this is not DOGE's singular contribution. Senator Rand Paul's annual Festivus report spotlights waste, and Senator William Proxmire did the same with his Golden Fleece awards. DOGE's real power lies in two key areas. First, it is using AI to track all the ways our money is being misspent. The sheer size of the Federal government makes this an almost impossible task for regular folks. AI analysis of Federal databases puts the power of information back in our hands, challenging the "deep state" bureaucrats. This gives fiscal conservatives like Senator Paul and Representative Massie a serious new weapon in the fight for fiscal responsibility. To understand if anything will actually change, we have to look at the political forces that encourage spending. It's all about the political equilibrium – the balance between those who favor and oppose spending. Politicians get votes and campaign cash by spending money. People love "free stuff," and Congress is happy to play Santa Claus... with our money! Nobody likes taxes, so raising them creates political backlash. Politicians prefer to spend without taxing, which threatens our financial stability. Look at the state bankruptcies of the 1830s or city bankruptcies after the Civil War. Spending benefits a small, targeted group who clearly see the benefits (think Social Security recipients). Taxes, on the other hand, hit a broad range of people and businesses. Figuring out who actually pays those business taxes is even trickier. Spending $1 million gets politicians more political gain than $1 million in taxes costs them politically. Plus, spending can benefit politicians and their families directly. This makes them even less interested in cutting back! We need to disrupt the current system to take back control of our spending. How? There's no easy answer. Javier Milei in Argentina has shown dramatic action can work, and DOGE's unconventional approach has had some success. USAID and parts of the Department of Education have seen major cuts. Seventy-five thousand Federal employees took DOGE's buyout, and thousands of probationary workers were let go. Reports say DOGE has cut $160 billion (though Congress or the courts could restore it). These cuts hit programs that progressives use to push their agenda. For example, grants to progressive NGOs funded lawsuits that blocked new factories and pushed progressive cultural values. Universities used overhead charges on NIH research grants to fund "woke" administrators. Going forward, DOGE should prepare annual recission bills for Congress, which ultimately decides on spending cuts. Returning some of those savings (maybe 20%) to taxpayers as refunds would generate new support for spending cuts. While deficit reduction is key, combining spending cuts with refunds is a powerful strategy. Uncle Sam spends $7 trillion and owes over $36 trillion because politics rewards spending, not fiscal responsibility. Musk and DOGE deserve serious credit for trying to shake things up and disrupt Washington's spending addiction.Is DOGE Dead? Think Again!
The Spending Problem Isn't Small
More Than Just a Number
DOGE's Secret Weapon: AI!
Leveling the Playing Field
The Political Game of Spending
Spending = Support
Taxes vs. Spending: A Lose-Lose Situation?
Winners and Losers
The Allure of Spending
Disrupting the Equilibrium
DOGE's Impact So Far
Targeting Progressive Agendas
The Path Forward: Recission Bills & Refunds!
Time to Disrupt!
